Category: Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA)

Yesterday, a landmark publication in The Lancet, a prestigious journal, showed that gene therapy can improve vision in people living with a rare blinding eye disease. The study examined the effects of an experimental gene therapy – voretigene neparvovec – to treat an inherited blinding eye disease caused by mutations in the RPE65 gene. RPE65…

So far this year, the pace of vision research has been sizzling! To celebrate the arrival of sizzling weather, we asked the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) staff to share their favourite FFB science stories from the archives. Kick back, relax, and enjoy our top 10 list of vision health tips, science stories, and sight-saving science…

On the first Tuesday of every month, the Foundation Fighting Blindness sends out our e-newsletter featuring the latest and most exciting research breakthroughs. Soon after each e-newsletter, our very own Director of Research and Education, Dr. Mary Sunderland, takes to our Facebook page to do a live broadcast discussion of the articles featured in the…

As a first-time mom, Iris Clarin had been to the doctor many times with her son, William. Whether it was for stubborn coughs or eye exams, these visits and tests almost became routine – until that day in 2009. William was three years old when both Iris and her husband noticed that his eyes focused…

There are no cures for blindness. Once someone has lost their vision to a blinding retinal eye disease there are no treatments that can fully restore sight. This is a problem, especially because it is estimated that 1 in 9 Canadians will develop irreversible vision loss by the age of 65. In 2017, thanks to…

START therapy is a bold plan to treat inherited blinding eye disease with an eye drop. Here at the FFB, we are excited about the research that Dr. Cheryl Gregory-Evans and her team are doing to make START therapy a reality. If successful, START therapy could be used to treat a variety of different genetic…

Last year was full of remarkable developments in vision science. Important discoveries in stem cell biology filled in key knowledge gaps, while advancements in gene therapy moved optogenetics from the realm of science fiction to reality (check out our top 10 discoveries from 2016). Here are four key developments to look forward to in 2017….

Ten years ago, scientists discovered that they could restore some vision to blind mice by cell transplantation. This watershed moment ushered in a golden era of stem cell research focused on treating blindness. Today, a surprising discovery offers a new explanation about how vision restoration occurs. Previously, scientists thought that stem cell transplantation worked by…

“Discover Your Path” was the theme of the FFB’s Vision Quest educational events in 2016. We visited four Canadian cities, hosted seven different events, and got to meet more than 750 attendees, clinicians, scientists, exhibitors and volunteers! We were also thrilled to live- broadcast our Toronto session about clinical trials, which has been viewed more…

At the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) we are motivated by a singular goal: develop new treatments for blindness and vision loss. This goal fuels all of the research that we fund. Today, we know more about blinding eye diseases than ever before. This knowledge is power because it shows us where to direct our resources…